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The dot-com bubble burst more than a decade ago, but the tremors are still being felt in some corners of the investment world and in some way may have cost Citigroup technology analyst Mark Mahaney his job.

Citigroup was slapped with a $2 million fine by Massachusetts’ securities regulator, which said the firm’s lead Internet analyst did not adequately supervise an underling who shared the bank’s pre-IPO view on Facebook with TechCrunch.

The consent order, which also includes e-mails that show Mahaney discussed performance expectations for Google‘s YouTube unit with a French reporter without getting pre-interview authorization, details how the junior analyst divulged Citi’s perspective on Facebook to a pair of TechCrunch employees (a friend and a former Stanford classmate) before the company went public in May and before research was sent to clients.

The back story is that after the dot-com bubble — when a number of Wall Street analysts were exposed for pumping up stocks that were little more than lottery tickets even if such bullishness conflicted with their own views — investment banks agreed to a “global settlement” setting out new standards and requirements for analyst disclosures.

Citigroup Global Capital Markets agreed to the consent order with Massachusetts’ Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, but did not admit or deny any wrongdoing. Citigroup confirmed that Mahaney has left the company — the junior analyst was terminated in September — and issued the following statement:

We are pleased to have this matter resolved. We take our internal policies and procedures very seriously and have taken the appropriate actions.

The consent order against Citi stems from an investigation into the circumstances around the Facebook initial public offering, which was quickly followed by reports that the social network’s underwriters shared falling revenue forecasts with select clients shortly before the debut. (See “Morgan Stanley Cut Facebook Outlook Just Before IPO.”)

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